Continental and Homeland Security

Abstract

Surrounded by oceans and friendly neighbours, and faced throughout the Cold War with a direct threat to its territory against which there was no effective defence (nuclear armed ballistic missiles), the United States has historically looked mainly overseas to guarantee its security. To many outside observers, the obvious American response to the terrorist attacks of n September 2001 might have been to focus less on measures abroad and more on those at home. After all, the strikes themselves shattered the notion that oceans and friendly borders made the United States less vulnerable to direct threats to its territory than countries not so fortunate in their geography. And terrorism is arguably a type of threat against which it may be possible to develop some effective defences. Yet the Bush administration's overwhelming response to the 9/11 attacks was to concentrate on the away game, whether it was direct American intervention in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, or assistance to other governments in combating terrorism in places like the Philippines and Africa.Despite its overseas orientation, the Bush administration arguably - and not surprisingly, given the terrorist attacks - devoted more attention to continental and homeland security than previous US administrations. It is this portion of America's overall security and defence activity that is the focus of this article. It begins by highlighting key developments in continental and homeland security during the Bush administration. It then examines the degree to which such issues figured in the 2008 presidential election and makes a projection as to how they may progress under the Obama administration. Finally, the article puts forward some thoughts about the implications for Canada of future developments in continental and homeland security.THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S HERITAGE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND DEFENCEThe Bush administration launched a number of measures in the civilian-led (homeland security) and military-led (homeland defence) arenas. On the civilian side it at first resisted significant institutional change, choosing instead to set up an Office of Homeland Security within the White House to coordinate America's homeland security efforts. Under congressional pressure, the administration eventually consented to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in March 2003 to bring together many ofthe dozens of agencies involved in some aspect of homeland security in the United States, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, Customs and Border Patrol and the Transportation Security Administration, which had been created after 9 /11 to ensure the security of America's airports, railways, and subways.Since that time, Homeland Security has taken initiatives in all ofthe sea, land, and air dimensions of homeland security. A significant portion of its effort has been in the area of port security, with the primary concern being that a weapon of mass destruction could be smuggled into the United States in one ofthe thousands of containers unloaded on US docks each day. Under the container security initiative, ships leaving for the United States must transmit their manifest to the US destination port before leaving the foreign port. Once they arrive on US soil, close to 100 percent of all containers are scanned for radiation, up dramatically from a small percentage just a few years ago. Initiatives pertaining to the land dimension of homeland security include the smart border accord negotiated between Canada and the United States soon after the 9 /11 attacks to ensure the continued smooth flow of trade, and the follow-on security and prosperity partnership among Canada, the United States, and Mexico, signed in 2005. Beyond these initiatives, DHS has deployed numerous unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol both borders, especially the southern one, and dramatically increased the number of border patrol agents. …